So I've started getting into the idea of writing fanfic again, and thought that there might be a fun way to read some cool stories from others within the EUCantina community.

I was also remembering, thanks in part to Mark over at the Star Wars: Beyond the Films podcast, that over on the StarWars.com forums, we used to frequently call for Del Rey to resume publishing short story anthologies like Tales from the Empire, Tales from the New Republic, Tales of the Bounty Hunters, Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, and Tales from Jabba's Palace. Those were cool books, and they showcased some great stories from a wide range of authors. Unfortunately, there seemed to be little uptake for the idea to starting making new such books.

Over on the Star Trek side, Simon & Schuester used to public Star Trek short story anthologies called "Strange New Worlds." One cool thing about those books is that they included one or two stories written from fans (as part of a contest).

So maybe we can try our hand at a Tales From The book? It would just be for fans, but it would be a concerted effort to try and remain internally consistent, respect the canon, and produce enjoyable and professional-style stories.

Does anyone want to join me in this activity?

The Rules:

1- We select one Tales topic on which to focus. Tales from the New Jedi Order, Tales from the Old Republic, Tales of the Mandalorians, Tales from the Clone Wars, etc. People propose which they think would be cool, and we start with the one that has the most support. If the first project works, then we can try our hands at others. When we pick the Topic, we also agree on the boundaries.

2- After picking the Topic, we each identify the main character of our story. The goal here is to prevent anyone's stories from infringing on canon, or on anyone else's stories. Characters can be entirely new, or can be side characters from the story itself, who have a lot of room to play. Please, no Big Three, and ideally no major characters (e.g. Kyp Durron, Corran Horn) unless you have a really good story idea that cannot conflict with others. In your own story, you can mention other characters, but try to avoid bringing them in.

We post the character we select on this thread, so that others know not to use them. If you want to use, however briefly, a character chosen by someone else, please PM the person who picked him/her to coordinate. Make sure you don't have that character do something big that prevents them from doing something earlier.

3- We open a new thread called "Tales From The <name>", and each of us start posting. One post per short story, with titles in bold on top. Comments can be made by subsequent posts, referring specifically to given stories so as not to cause confusion. Story edits can be made in-post, as there is no limit to how often or how much later we can edit our own posts.

4- Aim for professionalism and realism. Part of the game is that our stories could fit directly into the given era. So no killing off major characters, making your character do something completely out of character, etc. Invented characters are great, because you can't incorrectly portray them, but beware of overdoing it, unless you're aiming for something stylized.

So what say you all? Does anyone want to try their hand at this?_________________"I'm...from Earth."

I like it, partially because if we get about 8 or so good ones we could submit for publishing and who knows, we could join canon

But in all seriousness I'd throw in behind an NJO era 'Tales' collection. I've always wanted to explore the Yuuzhan Vong from a first person perspective and I think this would be a good way to do it._________________Perfection is a lifelong pursuit requiring sacrifice. The only way to get it quicker is to sacrifice the most.

Re: Fanfic Activity: Re-creating the "Tales From The&qu

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 4:20 pm

Message

VileZeroMaster

Joined: 21 Mar 2010Posts: 818Location: Washington DC

Taral-DLOS wrote:

Hello all,

So I've started getting into the idea of writing fanfic again, and thought that there might be a fun way to read some cool stories from others within the EUCantina community.

I was also remembering, thanks in part to Mark over at the Star Wars: Beyond the Films podcast, that over on the StarWars.com forums, we used to frequently call for Del Rey to resume publishing short story anthologies like Tales from the Empire, Tales from the New Republic, Tales of the Bounty Hunters, Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, and Tales from Jabba's Palace. Those were cool books, and they showcased some great stories from a wide range of authors. Unfortunately, there seemed to be little uptake for the idea to starting making new such books.

Over on the Star Trek side, Simon & Schuester used to public Star Trek short story anthologies called "Strange New Worlds." One cool thing about those books is that they included one or two stories written from fans (as part of a contest).

So maybe we can try our hand at a Tales From The book? It would just be for fans, but it would be a concerted effort to try and remain internally consistent, respect the canon, and produce enjoyable and professional-style stories.

Does anyone want to join me in this activity?

The Rules:

1- We select one Tales topic on which to focus. Tales from the New Jedi Order, Tales from the Old Republic, Tales of the Mandalorians, Tales from the Clone Wars, etc. People propose which they think would be cool, and we start with the one that has the most support. If the first project works, then we can try our hands at others. When we pick the Topic, we also agree on the boundaries.

2- After picking the Topic, we each identify the main character of our story. The goal here is to prevent anyone's stories from infringing on canon, or on anyone else's stories. Characters can be entirely new, or can be side characters from the story itself, who have a lot of room to play. Please, no Big Three, and ideally no major characters (e.g. Kyp Durron, Corran Horn) unless you have a really good story idea that cannot conflict with others. In your own story, you can mention other characters, but try to avoid bringing them in.

We post the character we select on this thread, so that others know not to use them. If you want to use, however briefly, a character chosen by someone else, please PM the person who picked him/her to coordinate. Make sure you don't have that character do something big that prevents them from doing something earlier.

3- We open a new thread called "Tales From The <name>", and each of us start posting. One post per short story, with titles in bold on top. Comments can be made by subsequent posts, referring specifically to given stories so as not to cause confusion. Story edits can be made in-post, as there is no limit to how often or how much later we can edit our own posts.

4- Aim for professionalism and realism. Part of the game is that our stories could fit directly into the given era. So no killing off major characters, making your character do something completely out of character, etc. Invented characters are great, because you can't incorrectly portray them, but beware of overdoing it, unless you're aiming for something stylized.

So what say you all? Does anyone want to try their hand at this?

NOOOOO WE ARE ALREADY DOING THIS

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 8:15 pm

Message

Taral-DLOSMaster

Joined: 23 Nov 2010Posts: 1943Location: Ontario, Canada

...where?

I'd like to partake, if this is something already underway._________________"I'm...from Earth."

Ditto_________________Perfection is a lifelong pursuit requiring sacrifice. The only way to get it quicker is to sacrifice the most.

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 8:05 am

Message

Old Master BenAdministrator

Joined: 10 Nov 2007Posts: 2259Location: Georgia

Ha! You can go ahead and do this. The idea of a new Tales collection is something Solo Sound is working on as a audio drama... and you could all have a chance to be involved in that too, in the future.

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 8:44 am

Message

Darth SkuldrenModerator

Joined: 04 Feb 2008Posts: 6844Location: Missouri

I do like writing short story Star Wars fanfics, so I'm interested._________________
"I believe toys resonate with us as humans, we can hold them them, it's tactile, real! They are totems for our extended beliefs and imaginations. A fetish for ideas that hold as much interest and passion as old religious relics for some. We display them in our homes. They show who we are. They are signals for similar thinking people. A way we connect with each other...and I guess thats why I do toys. That connection." -Ashley Wood

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 9:40 am

Message

DannikJerrikoEUC Staff

Joined: 09 Nov 2011Posts: 1236Location: Nirn

May I put forward the idea for Tales of the Hutts?_________________There's always a bigger fish - Qui Gon Jinn.

You shall learn that history is an intricate weaving of many events. No one thing can be understood without the proper context.

The best techniques are passed on by the survivors.

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 9:57 am

Message

Taral-DLOSMaster

Joined: 23 Nov 2010Posts: 1943Location: Ontario, Canada

Old Master Ben wrote:

Ha! You can go ahead and do this. The idea of a new Tales collection is something Solo Sound is working on as a audio drama... and you could all have a chance to be involved in that too, in the future.

OMG. I want in on this too.

DannikJerriko wrote:

May I put forward the idea for Tales of the Hutts?

This one's cool. And sufficiently broad in almost all respects. It could fit anywhere in the timeline (Xim, TOR, film era, NJO, FOTJ, etc.) It could be about any Hutt, or their slaves/underlings.

I second Tales of the Hutts. Partially because I love Hutts, partially because I already have a Hutt fan fic

Wouldn't mind writing another one either._________________
"I believe toys resonate with us as humans, we can hold them them, it's tactile, real! They are totems for our extended beliefs and imaginations. A fetish for ideas that hold as much interest and passion as old religious relics for some. We display them in our homes. They show who we are. They are signals for similar thinking people. A way we connect with each other...and I guess thats why I do toys. That connection." -Ashley Wood

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 3:49 pm

Message

VileZeroMaster

Joined: 21 Mar 2010Posts: 818Location: Washington DC

Tales of the Underworld would be fun. That let's fans choose between a bunch of different kinds of characters, whether they be Hutts, bounty hunters, smugglers, or criminals.

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 7:47 am

Message

Darth SkuldrenModerator

Joined: 04 Feb 2008Posts: 6844Location: Missouri

Would we want to narrow down the time period on a Tales of the Underworld? Might give it a tighter focus._________________
"I believe toys resonate with us as humans, we can hold them them, it's tactile, real! They are totems for our extended beliefs and imaginations. A fetish for ideas that hold as much interest and passion as old religious relics for some. We display them in our homes. They show who we are. They are signals for similar thinking people. A way we connect with each other...and I guess thats why I do toys. That connection." -Ashley Wood

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 7:57 am

Message

Taral-DLOSMaster

Joined: 23 Nov 2010Posts: 1943Location: Ontario, Canada

Underworld is a cool idea, because it emcompasses Hutts and allows for so much more.

I wouldn't want to narrow the time. Because it's a short story collection, without any links between the stories, then they needn't be constrained by time (unlike something like a Tales from the New Jedi Order, which is necessarily restrictive).

Maybe I want to do one centered in the TOR era, Skuldren wants to do one in the GCW, and VileZero in the Legacy era, etc. Better to leave it vague.

I'll give another few days to give a chance for more people to comment, and then we can start sharing topics (as I said in the intro post, we want to make sure we don't step on each other's toes, so we would want to share the topic/focus/main character)._________________"I'm...from Earth."

I'd love to take part in this! If anyone else has a Google account, Google Docs would be a perfect place to post and share stories. You can allow people to proofread and make comments on the work.

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:42 pm

Message

VileZeroMaster

Joined: 21 Mar 2010Posts: 818Location: Washington DC

Taral-DLOS wrote:

Underworld is a cool idea, because it emcompasses Hutts and allows for so much more.

I wouldn't want to narrow the time. Because it's a short story collection, without any links between the stories, then they needn't be constrained by time (unlike something like a Tales from the New Jedi Order, which is necessarily restrictive).

Maybe I want to do one centered in the TOR era, Skuldren wants to do one in the GCW, and VileZero in the Legacy era, etc. Better to leave it vague.

I'll give another few days to give a chance for more people to comment, and then we can start sharing topics (as I said in the intro post, we want to make sure we don't step on each other's toes, so we would want to share the topic/focus/main character).

Well, I kinda like the idea of having some central element that sort of tie the stories together. "Tales of the Bounty Hunters" had the ESB scene, Tales from Jabba's Palace and Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina also included some iconic scene in almost every story. Perhaps there can be a certain MacGuffin or something that can loosely tie our stories together?